Spring Break
Offense key in exhibition win
Colin McDonough
Issue date: 10/5/09 Section: Sports
UConn began its 50th season of hockey by defeating the Royal Military College of Canada 7-2 in an exhibition game Saturday night at Freitas Ice Forum.
Jeff Sapieha struck first for the Huskies midway through the first period with assists from Mike Coppola and Chris Spicer. The Paladins answered back four minutes later on a goal by Ken Morin. It was a 1-1 score after the first period, and RMC was outshooting the Huskies 10-7. That trend quickly changed.
Marcello Rannallo scored two minutes into the second period to give UConn the lead for good. Brian Reagan scored two minutes later and the captain, Coppola made it 4-1 at 9:35. Jim Gallagher scored for the first time in his career thirteen seconds after Coppola. Michael Soros scored for the Paladins to make the game 5-2 at the second intermission. In the third period, Coppola added an unassisted goal, and Alex Gerke scored with under five minutes left to make the score 7-2.
Coach Bruce Marshall was pleased to get his team back on the ice, and to get a victory.
"The intensity was good start to finish and our work ethic was consistent," Marshall said. "We made some mistakes but I'm glad we did. We will get better through our mistakes."
The Huskies' seven goals were more than they scored in any regular season game last year. Their high total was six versus Army. Although it was an exhibition game, Marshall was still happy to see his offense step up.
"We are just trying to get pucks in the back of the net and see where we can go from there," Marshall said.
Freshman goalie Jeff Larson made 22 saves in his college hockey debut. He played for the injured Brad McGinnis who may start in the Huskies' regular season opener at Ferris State.
"It was a big step for our goalie. He settled in nicely from the start," Marshall said. "In his first college hockey game, it was college hockey from the start. He had to make saves and he did."
The Huskies next game will be the real deal as they travel to Michigan to face Ferris State. Last season was a struggle for UConn as they finished with a 9-26-2 record. The Huskies finished second to last, only ahead of American International in the Atlantic Hockey standings. UConn went 8-18-2 in the conference and were dismissed by Sacred Heart 4-2 in the first round. This year, the Huskies will have a new mindset and will get back to playing simple hockey.
"We executed tonight and it felt good to score and get a win," Coppola said. "Last year we had very high expectations heading in, I think we expected more than we got out of it, and this season we will take it one step at a time, and one game at a time."
Coppola's coach echoed his captain's sentiments about the upcoming regular season.
"We want to be playing as best as we can throughout the season," Marshall said. "Our goal this season is going to be to what do we have to do to walk out of this rink feeling good about ourselves."
Jeff Sapieha struck first for the Huskies midway through the first period with assists from Mike Coppola and Chris Spicer. The Paladins answered back four minutes later on a goal by Ken Morin. It was a 1-1 score after the first period, and RMC was outshooting the Huskies 10-7. That trend quickly changed.
Marcello Rannallo scored two minutes into the second period to give UConn the lead for good. Brian Reagan scored two minutes later and the captain, Coppola made it 4-1 at 9:35. Jim Gallagher scored for the first time in his career thirteen seconds after Coppola. Michael Soros scored for the Paladins to make the game 5-2 at the second intermission. In the third period, Coppola added an unassisted goal, and Alex Gerke scored with under five minutes left to make the score 7-2.
Coach Bruce Marshall was pleased to get his team back on the ice, and to get a victory.
"The intensity was good start to finish and our work ethic was consistent," Marshall said. "We made some mistakes but I'm glad we did. We will get better through our mistakes."
The Huskies' seven goals were more than they scored in any regular season game last year. Their high total was six versus Army. Although it was an exhibition game, Marshall was still happy to see his offense step up.
"We are just trying to get pucks in the back of the net and see where we can go from there," Marshall said.
Freshman goalie Jeff Larson made 22 saves in his college hockey debut. He played for the injured Brad McGinnis who may start in the Huskies' regular season opener at Ferris State.
"It was a big step for our goalie. He settled in nicely from the start," Marshall said. "In his first college hockey game, it was college hockey from the start. He had to make saves and he did."
The Huskies next game will be the real deal as they travel to Michigan to face Ferris State. Last season was a struggle for UConn as they finished with a 9-26-2 record. The Huskies finished second to last, only ahead of American International in the Atlantic Hockey standings. UConn went 8-18-2 in the conference and were dismissed by Sacred Heart 4-2 in the first round. This year, the Huskies will have a new mindset and will get back to playing simple hockey.
"We executed tonight and it felt good to score and get a win," Coppola said. "Last year we had very high expectations heading in, I think we expected more than we got out of it, and this season we will take it one step at a time, and one game at a time."
Coppola's coach echoed his captain's sentiments about the upcoming regular season.
"We want to be playing as best as we can throughout the season," Marshall said. "Our goal this season is going to be to what do we have to do to walk out of this rink feeling good about ourselves."
Be the first to comment on this story